With a wary look to the sky and then another to the Weather Channel, skiers, boarders and resort operators are relishing the likely chance that a series of storms will allow ski parks to open for Thanksgiving weekend. At Tahoe, five resorts are projecting opening in the next week with limited terrain available.

"I would definitely say the ski season will be open for the Thanksgiving holidays," said Bay Area meteorologist Mike Pechner.

Everybody wonders whether this will be the third consecutive subpar snow year or the winter that everybody gets right? The consensus among forecasters is that precipitation in Northern California will at least be average this winter and more likely above average.

Meteorologist Mike Polansky found what might be a correlation between heavy rains in October and high annual rainfall. Since 1848, San Francisco has had more than 3 inches of rain in October nine times, including this year. Of the previous eight, six became very wet winters, one was normal, and one was below normal. In the past 40 years, wet Octobers occurred in 1972, 1982 and 2004, and each time a very wet winter followed.

Though inshore sea temperatures are average along the Northern California coast, offshore temperatures, especially in the south Pacific, show an El Niño influence that might pump extra moisture toward California.

The high Sierra near Tahoe gets some of the highest snowfalls in North America. Average snowfall at Tahoe ski resorts ranges from 400 to 500 inches, though the past two years have been off more than 30 percent. In typical storms, about 12 inches of powder is eventually compressed to a few inches of pack, which is why 500 inches of snow does not equal a 40-foot snowpack.

Early-season recreation prospects are much improved at Tahoe-area resorts because of the evolution of two key changes: snow-making and smoothing of terrain on runs.

The technology of snow guns and capacity of resorts to make snow is far better than in the past. Most resorts have developed their own water sources, such as ponds and small lakes, which provide near limitless quantities of water to create snow. That puts resorts without water at a huge disadvantage early in the season. When temperatures are freezing, typical on winter nights in the mountains, water is injected into what looks like a turbo fan, which then sprays the water into the air. It then freezes to create snow, and when it piles up, that snow is then spread out to cover runs and thin spots.

Resorts have also removed tree stumps and rock outcrops on runs that once created hazards for skiers in low-snow conditions. That means far less snow is needed for complete coverage than in the past, and for the most part, you don't have to worry as much about scratching up expensive equipment early in the season.

But there's nothing like a series of storms to blanket a mountain. Pechner says, "It appears that the jet stream will be close enough to Northern California for several weather systems to move through, continuing through early next week." Translated: Snow is coming.

As the snow flies, the ski resorts will be reborn.

Heavenly at South Lake Tahoe is planning to open Friday, and north lake resorts Squaw Valley USA and Northstar at Tahoe are projected to open Saturday. Sugar Bowl along Interstate 80 at Norden, 14 miles from Truckee, announced its opener will be Wednesday. Bear Valley along Highway 4 could open the day after Thanksgiving.

"We are very, very excited," said Jennie Bartlett, a manager at Sugar Bowl. "We heard maybe 1 to 2 feet of snow is coming through, Thursday into Friday. We'll evaluate it, but with two feet, we could get a lot of the mountain open."

Most other ski and board resorts have locked in opening dates, including two in early December. Alpine Meadows in north Tahoe announced it will open Dec. 5, and Sierra at Tahoe near Highway 50 south of Tahoe has projected Dec. 6. Diamond Peak near Incline Village, Nev., has set Dec. 10.

Most other resorts will open Dec. 18 to ramp up for the Christmas holiday, including Kirkwood near Carson Pass on Highway 88, Homewood on Tahoe's west shore, Donner Ski Ranch and Tahoe Donner, both off I-80 near Donner Summit, Dodge Ridge east of Sonora on Highway 108, Badger Pass on Glacier Point Road in Yosemite, and in the north state, Mount Shasta.

At three resorts, managers are waiting to see how much snow falls before calling in all employees and setting opening dates: Bear Valley, on Highway 4 east of Arnold, little Soda Springs near Norden off I-80 and Mount Rose near Reno.

"If we have enough snow we'll open the day after Thanksgiving," said Jim Gentling, Bear Valley's general manager. "We have hopes with this next round of storms. We've been blasting away with snow-making. It's all white here and with a little help from Mother Nature, we'd love to open."

To maximize recreation, timing is the key to storms, said Rob Brown, president of Mountain News, which runs onthesnow.com out of its Orinda headquarters.

Skiers want it to snow like crazy before a trip to open terrain and create ideal surface conditions, Brown said, then have the weather clear to ease driving and have maximum comfort on the mountain.

Pechner said the forecast is shaping up for that scenario to occur. Amid a series of fronts to hit Northern California, he predicted the first big blast to come Thursday night and Friday, especially in the north state, with one storm at Mount Shasta expected to drop 2 feet of snow.